Notes
[1] 外道 can be translated a lot of ways, but I went with "devil" in this case. "Rocking" is pretty liberal, obviously.
[2] 命しらず is a great word but I'm not sure if there's an equivalent idiom. I feel like there is. Kind of on the tip of my tongue but I can't find it. OH maybe I should say "We laugh in the face of death." I feel like that is kind of similar. It's actually not similar at all haha but I mean the tone...the feeling seems right maybe. I dunno. I'll leave it for now.
[3] "rad" is not literal at all. I want to say something like "My pride, my speed machine" cuz you can say that...in life, and people know you are not talking about your pride AND your speed machine, but that your speed machine IS your pride, but somehow I'm not confident it comes across in song lyrics like this...
[4] After consulting this I nearly went with "bitch" http://zokugo-dict.com/13su/suke.htm but decided that "chick" is probably insulting enough of a a nuance? Would be interesting to hear more about this slang haha.
[5] Every song I translate from now on apparently has to have どこまでも in it, and I will translate it differently every time -________-

Friday, April 27, 2012

The only AKB song to ever get in my head. Only, it gets in my head just about everyday lately...

Heavy Rotation - AKB48

I want you!
I need you!
I love you!
In my head
The pounding music
Heavy rotation

Like
Popping corn
The characters for "I like you" are written in a jumble [1]
Just thinking of
Your face, your voice
I can't sit still

To feel this way
I'm lucky, huh!

I want you!
I need you!
I love you!
Getting closer to
When I can meet you
MAX high tension

I want you!
I need you!
I love you!
In my heart
The love will never stop overflowing
Heavy rotation

How many times
Will someone be in love
During their life, I wonder?
I'll be satisfied
If I can have just one
That I'll never forget

Will something blossom
When I feel that heart throb?

I feel you!
I touch you!
I hold you!
In my dreams
It gets bigger and bigger
My imagination

I feel you!
I touch you!
I hold you!
I wanna tell you how I feel
So bad
Heavy rotation

My favorite song
I always listen to
Just like that song
On repeat
For 24 hours
I'm only requesting you

I want you!
I need you!
I love you!
Getting closer to
When I can meet you
MAX high tension

I want you!
I need you!
I love you!
In my heart
The love will never stop overflowing
Heavy rotation

Heavy rotation

Notes:

[1] Not that this is the only hesitation point, but I was tempted to say "jump off the page" or "jump out at me" but the dictionary mentioned that 踊る could be used to say that words are written messily. So I'm really not sure on this line.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Got this song in my head today when the Internet came on in my house. Good day! Good song!

Hello I Love You - Okamoto's

A boy is chasing a dream and a ballHis big brother is off chasing some girl's butt

A salaryman in a suit being rocked in a crowded train, clickity-clack
Whether you're laughing or crying, you only get one shot [1]
A tough spot is the beginning of an opportunity [2]

If you take the first step, everything is yoursThe first step, then another big stepHello, hello I love you

A CEO who just finished reading the newspaper on the top floor of his buildingHeroes often show up lateWanting to be admired by someone [3]

If you take the first step, everything is yoursThe first step, then another big stepHello, hello I love you

The first step, it goes on day by dayEveryday anewlike this till forever [4]Hello, hello I love you

Notes:

[1] Sorry, I sort of made up the "whether" part of this, but I had a hunch. Hope it was right lol
[2] Didn't really feel like a "chance" begins in English. "Opportunity" felt more like it could...
[3] This line took a while, but I realized if you read it as the front of the previous line (or middle, whatever) then it sort of made sense...as...that!
[4] Took a bold step there. Uhhh that どこまでも is a really tricky thing.

I read these lyrics the other day, but didn't have Internet so I couldn't post them. I don't really know if I interpreted it right. Lyrics are so tricky! I should try to do more Wikipedia sometime...

Land of the Wind [1]

You came to visit lonely melike the wind [2]You steal through my open window with the evening shadows and swirl around [3]

Your heart remains locked up tight [4]so no one can peek in

I'm sent flying, blown awayall over this vacant district [5]

Such a short song but it's actually really hard haha.

Notes:

[1] 世界 is "world" but that "World of the Wind" doesn't sound right in English.

[2] Calling someone "the wind" seems awkward. Almost went with, "You, the wind, came to visit lonely me" but...

[3] "swirl" is not really right. What is the right word? I can imagine the action and the emotion maybe, even, but not the English word that is the best translation D:

[4] Whose heart? His! I think! But...could be her own. I want to say I left it because the subject started out as him, but then I changed it in the last part to her anyhow so keeping the subject consistent can't really be the reason...ha.

[5] どこまでも seemed awkward here. I was not sure what to make of it. Then again "vacant district" is also awkward. Just wasn't sure if I could get away with "deserted hood" because it seemed a little different... Also I wasn't sure if the nuance was meant to be more like "hollow" like "lacking in substance" because of the way the neighborhood is or something. In that case maybe "empty" is better. I really don't know. Sometimes I dunno why I bother trying lol.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

I checked out my reflection in the spring window [1]
Of course I'm wearing a nice suit
I came five minutes late on purpose
So how come you
made me wait 25 minutes?

We wanted to talk so bad
You speak fast like a machine gun
Talking about how cool Shoken is [2]
Your cheeks flush, enchanted
You see my face and remember yourself [3]

The sweater you handed me as we were parting
It turned to spring while you were knitting
Us two continue living shoulder to shoulder [4]
You're not my sunshine or anything but
you're a bright 100 watt lightbulb

Notes:

[1] This is loose, but 映ってみる is a weird phrasing kinda?
[2] This guy, which is great, cuz it's more music for me to check out.
[3] Those two lines are kind of hard...I think I got it more or less right? "Remember yourself" is sort of stuffy English phrasing, but better than "come back to yourself" or something...?
[4] そんなふたり couldn't really be anyone else and the rest of the song seemed to be in first person. I think it's just like こんな僕？ maybe? I dunno. "Shoulder to shoulder" is awkward but..."together" is not really correct or anything either so.